California Labor Landmarks

Name Street Address City State Historical Notes Additional information
American Merchant Marine Veterans Memorial adjacent to Los Angeles Maritime Museum San Pedro CA A tribute to the Merchant Marines wartime contributions. Merchant Marines were without official status as veterans when sculpture commissioned. Recognition was achieved in 1988.
Baton Rouge Victory Memorial San Francisco waterfront, near the Golden Gate Bridge San Francisco CA This memorial is dedicated to the seven merchant seamen who crewed the SS Baton Rouge Victory and lost their lives when the ship was sunk by Viet Cong action en route to Saigon on August 23, 1966.
Bodega Bay Fisherman's Memorial on top of a bluff at Bodega Head Bodega Head CA Commemorates the dozens of fishermen who have failed to return home to Bodega Head. Battle to get permission from the state government to place a memorial on state park property at Bodega Head.
Bodie Union Hall
Bodie CA The Miners' Union Local 61, Western Federation of Miners, was organized December 22, 1877, and was one of the first organized unions in California. The Union Hall was erected in 1878 and used for meetings and social events. The gold mining town of Bodie was built in the mid-1800s and abandoned in 1932. Today it is a preservation area, and a California State Historical Park. Now the union hall houses the park museum.
Bridges, Harry, Bust lobby of ILWU headquarters, 1188 Franklin Street & Geary Boulevard San Francisco CA Honors ILWU President Emeritus Harry Bridges who symbolizes the accomplishments of this longshore union over the last half of the 1900s. ILWU is the International Longshore & Warehouseworker's Union.
Chavez, Cesar, Bust Cesar Chavez Middle School; 2801 Hop Ranch Rd. Union City CA A founder of the United Farm Workers of America (UFW), Cesar Chavez organized farmworkers during the 1960s, particularly in California.The union used nonviolent tactics like boycotts and hunger strikes to focus attention on farmworker exploitation . The memorial is located in the courtyard of the school; please notify the main office when visiting.
See: Chavez, Cesar, Elementary School Mural, San Francisco, CA
Cesar Chavez Elementary School Mural Shotwell St., between 22nd and 23rd St. San Francisco CA Cesar Chavez, and Dolores Huerta, founded the United Farm Workers of America successfully organizing farmworkers during the 1960s. Committed to nonviolence, the union used boycotts and hunger strikes to draw attention to the exploitation in the fields. The mural is located on a school in the Mission District in San Francisco, long a Mexican-American neighborhood.
Chinese Railroad Worker Statue Upper town at the Chamber of Commerce (former railway station) 601 Lincoln Way Auburn CA Tribute to the significance of the Chinese worker in the construction of the transcontinental railroad through the Sierra Mountains of California. Working for Central Pacific, Chinese workers lay the connecting rails from the west on May 10, 1869. Irish railworkers for Union Pacific lay the connecting rails from the east.
The American Heritage Dictionary defines "coolie" as an offensive term applied to "an unskilled Asian laborer."
Chipper Sculpture Potrero Hill San Francisco CA Artist was awarded the first prize at the 1943 San Francisco Art Show for this piece which depicts the dignity of the worker.
Coit Tower Murals Telegraph Hill San Francisco CA The murals of Coit Tower depict a common theme, "Aspects of Life in California, 1934," painted by 25 artists and 19 assistants. The murals reflect social, political and labor-related concerns of the Great Depression, The murals, created in 1934, were funded by the Public Works of Art Project, a New Deal program under the Roosevelt administration.
Dellums, Cottrell, Lawrence, Monument C.L. Dellums Amtrak Station, Jack London Square, 245 2nd St. Oakland CA Dellums, a porter fired by the Pullman Company in 1927 for his organizing activites, co-founded the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters in 1937, the first labor union led by African Americans. He was a vice president of the AFL-CIO until the mid-1980s. Statue commemorates the 10th anniversary of Dellums' death. Dellums also served as the founding president of the West Coast NAACP.
Furuseth, Andrew, Memorial outside entrance to the Sailors Union of the Pacific Hall.
1st & Harrison Sts.
San Francisco CA Union leader, Andrew Furuseth, was one of the founders of the SUP and the president of the International Seamen's Union of America. He was known as the "Abe Lincoln of the Seas." He was an immigrant from Romedal, Norway and has a monument there as well. Furuseth (1854-1938) sponsored the La Follette's Seamans Act allowing seamen to quit their job without being put into irons for desertion. Concerned with improving conditions for seamen, he refused to accept a higher wage than an ordinary seaman's.
Garcia & Maggini Warehouse 128 King St. San Francisco CA On July 3, 1934, employers tried to break the strike that had closed down Pacific coast shipping since May. Trucks began to move goods from the warehouse but striking waterfront workers resisted during a five-hour battle, a prelude to "Bloody Thursday." The warehouse is listed as San Francisco Landmark No. 229.

See: Bridges, Harry, Bust, San Francisco, CA and ILWU Monument, San Francisco, CA
Hoffer, Eric, Monument Pier 39 in the Embarcadero San Francisco CA Honors the longshoreman/poet/philosopher, Eric Hoffer, who died in 1983. see: Skygate
ILWU Monument Mission & Steuart Sts. San Francisco CA Commissioned to mark the 50th anniversary of the ILWU, the monument commemorates the police killing of Howard Sperry and Nick Bordoise on "Bloody Thursday," July 5, 1934. The incident sparked the 1934 general strike and led to the founding of the ILWU. The artwork depicts scenes which led up to the general strike as well as gains won following the struggle, such as the 6-hour day.
Liberty Hill Monument Corner of 5th St. and Harbor Blvd. San Pedro CA The Marine Transport Workers Industrial Union 510 of the IWW rallied at Liberty Hill in 1923 to protest low wages, bad conditions and imprisonment of union activists. Author Upton Sinclair was arrested while attempting to read from the Bill of Rights. Although the strike failed, it contributed to the future successes of the 1930s.
Dedicated by the San Pedro Bay Historical Society and the Maritime Trades Industrial Unions.
Lundeberg, Harry, Memorial 450 Harrison St., Outside entrance to the Sailors Union of the Pacific Hall San Francisco CA Harry Lundeberg (1901-1957) was president of the Seafarers International Union (1938-1957), head of the Sailors Union of the Pacific, and chartered the Brotherhood of Marine Engineers in 1949. He established the first pension and welfare plans for seamen. See Furuseth, Andrew, Memorial, San Francisco, CA.
Marine Firemen Bas-Relief Marine Firemen's Union Hall; 240 2nd Avenue San Francisco CA Bas-relief depicts marine firemen at work in the hull of a ship. Plaque inside the building reads "This building was erected by the members of the Marine Firemen's Union as a bulwark of honest unionism and a lasting tribute to those me of the union who lost their lives manning the ships in WWII. June 1st, 1947."
Mechanics Monument First & Market San Francisco CA The statue was erected for the workers at Union Iron Works, the first foundry built in California.
Merchant Seamen Plaque At the foot of Folsom Street, Embarcadero San Francisco CA Merchant seamen have been responsible for merchant shipping and transportation of resources during US wars. These dangerous, yet critically important duties were most notably significant during World War II. Placed by the Golden Gate Chapter, American Merchant Marine Veterans, close to the site of the lumber pile where the Sailors' Union of the Pacific was founded in 1885.
Rincon Annex Post Office Murals Rincon Post Office Annex; 101 Spear St., at Mission St. San Francisco CA The WPA commissioned these indoor murals depicting the history of San Francisco, including panels of labor prisoner Tom Mooney, Harry Bridges during the 1934 General Strike, and Chinese labor building the railroads. The mural was declared a San Francisco city landmark in 1979. The building also holds a bronze plaque dedicated to San Francisco Post Office Employees who "served with distinction and valor in WWI & II and the Korean War .." (dedicated 03/22/61)
Rosie the Riveter Memorial Corner of Regatta & Marina Bay Pkwy., in the Marina Bay Park Richmond CA Marks the accomplishments and remembers the hardships of the women known as "Rosies," who worked in the Kaiser Shipyards during WWII. 747 warships were produced at Shipyard No. 2. Part of the creation of the World War II Home Front National Historical Park.
Skygate Pier 39 in the Embarcadero San Francisco CA Honors the longshoreman/poet/philosopher, Eric Hoffer, who died in 1983.
St. John, Vincent, Memorial
Oakland CA Honors Vincent St. John, a great labor organizer who died poor and was buried in an unmarked grave. "The Saint" was a founder of both the Western Federation of Miners and the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW).


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